23 Devon's Conviction

"Higher..."

Pum!

"Faster..."

Pum! Pum!

"Much more precise..."

Pum! Pum! Pum!

Devon struck the dummy forcefully; her kicks were high and fast, always maintaining her distance with an imaginary opponent she had been creating to always stay in control. She had slowly lost the fear of the blows she might receive; that's what she had been practicing with Dash while he improved his blocks, and she improved her attacks.

Although both of them didn't want to hurt each other due to the affection they had, each was improving in some special aspects by facing each other, which was much better than even regular training.

"I've always been holding back pain and shrinking within myself; I must unleash it all and use it to win," murmured Devon as she hit the dummy with increasing force.

The more she thought about her weakness, the angrier Devon felt, and her kicking style became even more aggressive. She knew that her aggressiveness alone wasn't enough to overcome experience, so they needed to increase their speed and find a way to surprise their opponents.

Every time she trained, she felt good. She had understood what Dash meant when he mentioned wanting to see how far he could push his body. Many may not appreciate the body, but she believed it was incredibly fantastic to exert her strength and improve in something many deemed impossible.

She still had a lot to improve, but it would be incredible if, at some point, she could participate in tournaments and see how far she could go. It was not only fun, but the day felt much longer by practicing all day.

It was precisely for this reason that she started learning Kung Fu. Since her youth, she believed that fights were not entirely necessary. Still, when she fought alongside Dash in that alley, she felt an excitement she had never felt before, so she decided to give it a try.

"You'll go far with your kicks, Miss Lee; no one will expect your results in the tournament." Mr. Kim, who had just finished training with Dash, approached Devon and admired her skill with kicks.

"Is that enough to win?"

"Of course not. You won't win first place if you fight that way." Mr. Kim said calmly.

"Oh..." Devon's face became even angrier, and she instinctively began kicking more.

"Do you know why Dash took you down with that low kick?" Mr. Kim approached to give a lesson to his female student.

"Why couldn't I dodge it?"

"Incorrect." Mr. Kim shook his head and added, "You lost because the enemy knows your movements. I've been observing your kicks, and in less than thirty seconds, he could counter your moves by targeting a point."

"So, what should I do not to lose that way?" Devon stopped, looked at her teacher, and asked with much more attention.

"As it's too late to learn defense, and knowing that your specialty is kicks, we'll start learning feints, and you'll focus only on scoring points, not causing damage." Mr. Kim said as he approached the training dummy.

"Watch closely and learn!"

Mr. Kim raised his guard; his hands covered his head, and he began to take small jumps, looking at the training dummy as if it were his enemy. Devon then saw how Mr. Kim moved his arm towards the dummy's head but stopped halfway and then, with the help of the jumps and hip movement, kicked back with his right foot towards the dummy's stomach.

"That was incredible..." Devon got excited at seeing that kick that was simply brilliant and very intelligent.

Many may not appreciate what Mr. Kim had just done, but in a real confrontation, if that feint kick hits the opponent, it would cause them to be out of the fight.

"This first feint is what we'll work on for the rest of today's training. Get ready and spar with me."

"Yes, Master Kim."

Devon got excited about that incredible kick; she had improved her speed, strength, and flexibility, and she had learned special kicking techniques. However, feints, in this case, were unique styles to deceive the enemy.

After training for a few more hours, Devon ended up exhausted, feeling her leg muscles burning. After practicing the first feint technique a lot, she understood that by using this kick, she would prepare her rivals to avoid her kicks that were similar. Considering that, she knew she would have the advantage, as she could play with her opponent's mind, clearly faking a feint only to land a hit with her arms that wasn't a feint and thus win the fight.

In Karate, she would have the advantage as the enemy would have no more than three chances to figure out her fighting style, and she only needed to score points.

"How did it go?" Dash handed Devon a sports drink and sat next to her while taking a selfie.

"What are you doing?" Devon directed her attention to the camera in Dash's hands and asked a bit confused.

"Memories; we'll need photos to remember how our legend begins..." Dash said while taking a few more pictures with Devon.

"It seems like you didn't train much; are you even tired?"

Dash smiled and said, "I'm beaten, let's go back to our homes, and remember to take a cold shower..."

"That's just what I need..."